Beautician with an eye for detail scoops top award for motor makeovers

WINNER: Isobel Duff with her Newcomer of the Year award

By Rick Lyon, Co-Editor

A woman who made the switch from eyelash extensions to eye-catching motors to help protect her husband’s business has made her mark in her new industry by winning a major international award.

Isobel Duff was named Newcomer of the Year at the International Detailing Association (IDA) annual awards in Orlando, Florida, and puts the success down to the tuition she received from husband Andy and the transformation which he experienced during a training summit at the Leather Repair Company in Hull.

In addition to Isobel’s success, in a ceremony dominated by American experts and with entries from around the world, there were nominations for Matt Eager from West Yorkshire – who had also attended the Hull summit – and for the Leather Repair Company itself.

Isobel, who runs her own salon in Glasgow and now also works in Andy’s Studio 16 in Ayr, said: “I came in initially to help Andy through a bout of illness because he was thinking of closing the business. I discovered I’m good at it and I decided I could make quite a good living from it.

“There are a lot of transferrable skills between beauty and detailing. You have to problem solve, be artistic – and meticulous.”

Andy had been working in detailing for more than 30 years before he attended the Leather Repair Company’s first summit, which in February 2024 brought together participants from the USA, the Netherlands and Portugal to join UK delegates from as far afield as Scotland and Devon.

The event explored skills around products and processes, sanding and polishing and use of power tools on cars and motorbikes, with a particular focus on the booming market in the USA market.

A key element was a session on mental health to support delegates who often work in isolation. Isobel said that was crucial for Andy, after she had to push him to take part in the summit when impostor syndrome kicked in.

She said: “When I first met Andy his business was thriving but I didn’t know about the crisis of confidence he was going through. He came back from the summit transformed.”

With a background in “rock n’ roll jobs” including music retail and alternative fashion, Isobel made the smooth transition into eyelash extensions and excelled when Studio 16 came under threat.

SUCCESSFUL: Isobel and her husband Andy at work

She said: “We’d been married less than two years and our plan had always been to resist scaling up our businesses because of the stress that can come with that. But when Andy became ill, he reluctantly considered selling up, with someone else looking to take it over. But we wanted to keep going so he trained me.”

Andy said: “I had the experience from the summit in Hull and I deliver a lot of training anyway, so I brought Isobel in and trained her up from scratch.

“She’s a super quick learner.”

The couple then embarked on a whirlwind year in 2025 with Isobel becoming the only female IDA accredited detailer, passing her specialist exams in motorbike detailing and qualifying to apply paint protection film (PPF). She has also joined the board of the IDA UK chapter.

This year got off to a flying start with Isobel winning her award.

Now Isobel spends two days a week in her own salon and two at Studio 16, where she specialises in PPF for motorbikes and also works on cars.

The couple will share their expertise with other operators when they host the next Leather Repair Company summit, endorsed by the IDA, at their studio from June 17-20 this year.

Richard Hutchins, who founded the Leather Repair Company with his wife Carolynne in 2007, said: “When Isobel heard she’d been nominated for the award, she didn’t think much of it at first because she’s from a sector where beauty brands are always giving out prizes to promote themselves.

“But detailing is a global sector and is massive in the USA. Of the eight awards, six went to American individuals and businesses and two to the UK – including one for Isobel. That’s an incredible achievement in a predominantly male environment, and it’s also significant that we were shortlisted as well as Matt Eager.”

Carolynne added: “The reason we started the summits was to promote detailing in the UK and it’s great to see everything falling into place.

“The summit in Ayr will be our seventh and will be ground-breaking because there are not many detailing events in Scotland or the north of England. People are booking already from across the UK and internationally.”